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Second Zefarelli government
The Second Zefarelli government was the second ministry of Prime Minister of Italy Michele Zefarelli, which lasted from November 2019 to July 2020. Zefarelli won re-election in 2020, forming the Third Zefarelli government. History Formation The Zefarelli government lasted less than a year, with the next election being called in November 2019. The election saw the Five Star Movement lose its status as being tied for the most number of seats, as Antonio Ongari defected from the M5S to Lega Nord. The leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party of Italy and Lega Nord each won seats, with PRD candidate Ignazio Bandero and Lega candidate Franco Cibo being elected and M5S incumbent Eleonora Tomasetti and Forza Italia incumbent Antonio Ongari losing for re-election. The incumbent coalition government of Prime Minister Michele Zefarelli counted on the continued support of his right-wing populist Lega party, the conservative Forza Italia party, and the social democratic Democratic Party. Again, Zefarelli was challenged by Nicola Urbini, who had the support of his progressive Five Star Movement, the socialist Italian Left party, and the eco-socialist PRD. The ensuing vote saw Zefarelli win the premiership in a 21-18 vote, with Lega member Carlo Gerlandi and Forza member Rosa Nuccio breaking party lines to support Urbini, while M5S member Alice Andreotti breaking party lines to support Zefarelli. Legislation The first issue voted upon by the new government was Lega deputy Nicola Augostini's bill to abolish public housing, but the bill failed in December 2019 by a margin of 10-29, with Marco Verardi abstaining and PD deputy Giuseppe Nardelli revolting and supporting the "keep" side. The PRD, which had supported public housing, won another victory through illicit means when they bribed PD deputy Camilla Ianuzzo to join their party. In February 2020, Forza Italia deputy Mario Tassoni authored a bill which would introduce an income tax, and, while half of his party opposed the bill (as did most of the Lega Nord deputies and M5S member Gabriele Nocera), the bill passed by a margin of 24-12, with 4 abstaining; all of the PRD and the SI voted in favor of the bill, as did every M5S member except for Nocera. The Chamber also approved funding schools over the police by a margin of 29-11, with Forza Italia being the only party to mostly oppose the measure (with Paolo Mascherpa breaking party ranks to support schools, while M5S member Gabriele Nocera and PRD member Mirella Uberti broke ranks to support the police). PRD leader Giacomo Zerilli then introduced a bill to create a bus transport service, and the bill was approved 33-5, while 2 abstained. The next bill, sponsored by M5S member Giacomo Gianetti, supported party funding, but Forza Italia, the Democratic Party, the Italian Left, PRD, and some Lega Nord members opposed the bill, which was shot down by 22-16, with 1 abstention; the PRD and Italian Left believed that the people alone should run elections. A week later, FI deputy Rosa Nuccio proposed to abolish the 2019 Anti-Mafia Commission, but the repeal was defeated 38-1, with only M5S deputy Gabriele Nocera voting for the repeal, and FI deputy Luigi Vizzioni abstaining. Election In July 2020, 67.4% of Italian voters participated in a general election, in which Lega, Forza Italia, and the PD lost support, while the SI, PRD, and M5S gained support. Lega Nord won nine seats, MS won 9, PD won 7, FI won 6, the PRD won 5, and SI won 4. A week after the election, in the last act of the Chamber before the formation of a new government, the lame duck parliament voted to keep the income tax by a margin of 25-5 with 7 abstentions; it was supported by the PRD (with Mirella Uberti abstaining), the Italian Left, M5S, a portion of Lega Nord, a portion of the Democratic Party of Italy, and Forza Italia politician Paolo Mascherpa. A week later, 32 members of Parliament voted for a new Prime Minister, and Zefarelli was again re-elected by a narrow margin of 19 to 17, with a few rebellious deputies on each side voting for the other candidate. The Left (Italian Left, PRD, and M5S) generally supported M5S leader Nicola Urbini, while the Right (Democratic Party, Lega Nord, and Forza Italia) generally supported Michele Zefarelli, who formed the Third Zefarelli government. Assessment The Second Zefarelli government was marked by a slight decline in Italian politics. Corruption began to take root as the PRD used bribes to encourage defections to their party, and as efforts were made by a small group of corrupt, Sicilian Mafia-linked politicians to abolish the 2019 Anti-Mafia Commission. The government was also marked by a breakdown of bipartisanship as contentious issues such as the income tax, the electoral threshold, and party funding came to the forefront of politics, leading to the creation of a more competitive political environment. Members PRD (5) * Giacomo Zerilli * Mirella Uberti * Roberto Orvieti * Paolo Loren * Ignazio Bandero Italian Left (3) * Michele Iovine * Francesco Noele * Giuseppe Andino M5S (9) * Nicola Urbini * Giacomo Gianetti * Matteo Zoff * Vittorio Uvari * Carlo Hurli * Alice Andreotti * Vittorio Campanella * Gabriele Nocera * Franco Nitti PD (7) * Stefano Petroni * Gabriele Veltramo * Camilla Ianuzzo * Giuseppe Nardello * Vittorio Bonetti * Michele Legnani * Marco Verardi Lega Nord (10) * Valeria Iustiniani * Carlo Gerlandi * Francesco Giacconi * Giuseppe Imbarelli * Adriana Verastro * Nicola Augostini * Franco Cibo * Roberto Rizzoni * Luciana Herreri * Antonio Merlotti Forza Italia (6) * Antonio Hadriano * Paolo Mascherpa * Luigi Vizzioni * Rosa Nuccio * Valeria Scuto * Mario Tassoni Category:Italian governments